Fear of the Ed
by Dustbunny3
Summary: [One-shot][Gen or any Eds ship] Future fic. Eddy tries to convince himself he's not afraid of the power going out, but doesn't quite believe it until his friends show up.


A/N: Set some years in the future with the Eds all living together. I couldn't decide if I wanted this to be shipfic or not, but then I figured that there isn't a whole lot of difference where G-rated Eds fluff is concerned anyway, so. Take it as you will.

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Eddy grumbled as he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep despite how tired he felt. Groaning, he rolled to face his nightstand to check the time; maybe it wasn't so late yet that Ed wouldn't still be awake. Eddy could go out and take a corner of the couch for himself while Ed worked on his latest comic, and at least that way he'd have company while he couldn't sleep.

He peered at his alarm clock, or at least he thought he did. Double Dee had built him a fancy (and rassafrassin' sturdy) new digital clock for his last birthday, because even someone as smart as Double Dee didn't necessarily understand how birthday presents were supposed to work. It boasted the time in bold numbers that glowed a demonic red that could be seen outside Eddy's window if the shades and curtains both weren't drawn, but Eddy couldn't see them now. Confused, he rolled over the other way– maybe he'd forgotten where his nightstand was? He felt tired enough.

Only the time wasn't stabbing him in the eyes when he looked the other way either. His forehead scrunched in confusion. Maybe he was so tired that his eyes weren't actually open? If they were, where was the glow of his lava lamp? Where was the light that always managed to sneak in from the posts outside? Eddy squeezed his eyes shut and tried opening them again; nothing. He reached to rub his fists into his eye sockets and tried again– still only darkness, aside from the blobs of color now floating across his vision. What in the w–

It hit him all at once that he didn't see any lights because there weren't any lights. There wasn't any power. His blanket was up over his head almost before he had finished the thought. Now it was dark, he told himself, because the heavy comforter blocked everything out. It was dark because his eyes were closed, because he was going to sleep. It was nighttime and he'd gone to bed an hour ago and he was _going to sleep_. No light necessary for that, nope, not for Eddy the Adult.

No, sir, Eddy the Adult knew that there was nothing in the dark to hurt him. As Double Dee had said when he was trying to be helpful but was actually being condescending, nothing was there in the dark that wasn't there in the light. And despite Double Dee's passive-aggressive digs and outright accusations, Eddy knew exactly what was in his room in the light (for the most part) and where (most of the time). Shadows against shadows as seen through more shadows had nothing on him, no way and no how, and there was no sound he hadn't heard a million times before.

Like that, right there– that was the scraping of that stupid branch that Double Dee wouldn't let him hack off the tree outside his window. And _that_ was the creak of settling floorboards that had inspired Ed's last horror mini and many spine-tingling bedtime stories before he got it all down. There went that creepy owl that none of them could ever find. And that– that thumping and scurrying around down the hall there– that was, uh. That was–

What _was_ that?

Eddy pulled his blanket tighter and and strained to listen past the ringing in his ears. No, he hadn't imagined it– something out there was moving and it was moving _closer_. He hardly had time to be freaked out over what it might be before he heard another, even more alarming noise; a yell, sleepy and startled and familiar.

"Double Dee?" he called– or, well, meant to call. In his mind, he saw himself call out, dramatically toss aside his blanket and jump out of bed to go see what the matter was. In reality, it was more like he squeaked and sat up against his headboard, blanket clutched to his chest.

The rapid pounding sound that approached his room was familiar, too, and his tired and panicked mind had just about placed it when his door was thrown open with a bang to reveal a roiling shadow against the dark and he lost all train of thought to the least masculine shriek he'd ever shrieked.

"Ed, please," he heard Double Dee whine from within the mass. "I have work in the morning!"

"Double Dee?" Eddy said again, voice still a little on the high side. In another moment, the words hit him. " _Ed_?"

"The lights have gone out!" Ed announced with what Eddy thought might be a dramatic sweep of the arm he wasn't using to restrain Double Dee. "A blackout has driven our entire neighborhood into darkness!"

"I was _enjoying_ the darkness, Ed," Double Dee said, edging away from whiny and into scolding. "I was sleeping? We should _all_ be sleeping."

"And so we shall be," Ed said with the air of a wise man.

The shadow mass of Ed and the struggling Double Dee moved from the doorway at last. Eddy was still squinting at them, trying to make sense of what was happening, when Double Dee was tossed unceremoniously on top of him.

"Hey! Ed, what– _hey_!"

Eddy and Double Dee were grabbed and shifted aside so that Ed could climb up beside them. There was a bit of a tussle as they all tangled up with each other and Eddy's rumpled blankets in the dark, Eddy and Double Dee protesting the abrupt treatment physically as well as verbally, but neither of them were a match for Ed's determination, never mind his strength. Eddy was sure he never let go of his blanket, but he still somehow found himself being hugged close on one side of Ed with Double Dee on the other, the blanket tucked around all three of them.

"Ed," Eddy tried again when it seemed they had settled, giving a token struggle against Ed's arm, "what is the _deal_?"

"No deals right now, Eddy," Ed said like he was scolding a misbehaved kitten. "It's time for sleeping."

"I _was_ sleeping," Double Dee grumbled again from Ed's other side, though the fight had mostly gone out of him already.

"And now we all shall sleep," said Ed declared; Eddy couldn't be sure in the dark, but it sounded like Ed reached to scritch behind Double Dee's ear and got his hand swatted for his trouble. Ed took it in stride, letting out a massive, noisy yawn that billowed his night breath over both of them and snuggling deeper into Eddy's pillow, arms tightening around them as though they needed to be secured. "Good night, my friends."

Double Dee muttered something too quiet to make out, but his movements suggested an attempt to get comfortable rather than an attempt to escape. As the other two quieted down, Eddy realized that his heart wasn't pounding between his ears anymore; looking back, he thought it might have stopped at around the time he realized it was Ed and Double Dee in his doorway.

Lying there in the dark– hugged to Ed's side, Ed's heart beating a steady, soothing rhythm under his ear; Double Dee's hand curled on Ed's chest, brushing against Eddy's in the middle; a weird mix of both their scents settling around him– Eddy found himself finally drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

Then the snoring started.

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Thanks for reading~


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